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Microsoft E3 2009 Booth Report

What's orange, white, and green all over? Microsoft's stylish booth is home to some of the biggest games of E3 2009.

The Scene

Microsoft's ultra-modern booth in the Los Angeles Convention Center's South Hall looks more like a fashionable high-end art gallery than a common place for the company to shill its latest wares. While most of the games Microsoft is showcasing can be found around the booth's curved, concentric walls, a closely guarded frosted glass door allows select visitors entry to the inner circle within. On day one of E3 2009 that included me.

Executive interviews and business deals take place at the top of the Microsoft booth.

Anyone able to attend E3 can at least check out most of the exhibited games in the public areas. It's the level of access and the opportunity to gain insight from the development team that are the real benefit of hitting those meeting rooms. It's also here where you can find the top-level decision makers. Microsoft's games division executives live on the booth's second floor, resting comfortably in their green, orange, and ivory tower as they entertain the movers and shakers of the media and business world.

The Ninja Turtles were here, promoting the 3D remake of Turtles in Time.

On a show floor where most game kiosks are set up in cramped, confined spaces, Microsoft's curvy booth is sectioned off in such a way as to provide most games with an almost-personal section of wall space. Benches around the booth's perimeter even offer a show floor rarity: actual seating. Passersby are welcome to take a load off if they're also willing to sit through a demonstration, like one that promises great new things from the forthcoming enhancements to the Xbox Live Avatar system. When your feet are aching after a long day of wading through crowds to get to appointments, this brief respite is more than welcome.

Bungie invites you to have a seat and play some Halo 3: ODST.

There's even a theater area where visitors to the Microsoft booth can watch the sizzle videos and trailers for the games that were unveiled as part of the company's press conference. The videos are on permanent rotation, so you're never more than a few minutes away from seeing what the buzz is all about.